So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hands of the kings of Aram and Israel, who are rising up against me.”
Parallel translations
- WEB So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath Pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me.”
- KJV So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me.
- NKJV So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me.”
- NASB So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son; come up and save me from the hand of the king of Aram, and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me.”
- NLT King Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria with this message: “I am your servant and your vassal. Come up and rescue me from the attacking armies of Aram and Israel.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Ahaz appeals to Assyria for rescue, calling himself the king's servant and son. He trusts a pagan empire instead of the LORD.
Overview
Rather than relying on God's promise of deliverance, Ahaz submits himself to Tiglath-Pileser as a vassal. The language 'your servant and your son' signals political subservience and spiritual compromise. This refusal to trust the LORD, despite Isaiah's assurance, exposes the unbelief at the heart of Ahaz's reign.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- 2 Kgs 15:29In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people as captives to Assyria.
- 1 Kgs 20:4And the king of Israel replied, “Just as you say, my lord the king: I am yours, along with all that I have.”
- 2 Chr 28:20Then Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came to Ahaz but afflicted him rather than strengthening him.
- Lam 4:17All the while our eyes were failing as we looked in vain for help. We watched from our towers for a nation that could not save us.
- 1 Chr 5:26So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria) to take the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. And he brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan, where they remain to this day.
- Ps 146:3–5Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save.
- Hos 14:3Assyria will not save us, nor will we ride on horses. We will never again say, ‘Our gods!’ to the work of our own hands. For in You the fatherless find compassion.”
- 2 Chr 28:16At that time King Ahaz sent for help from the king of Assyria.
- 1 Kgs 20:32–33So with sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their heads, they went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please spare my life.’” And the king answered, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”
- Jer 17:5This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.
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Amid the long decline toward exile, the promise to David's house refuses to die; the flickering lamp kept burning anticipates the coming King who will not fail or be cut off.
How 2 Kings 16:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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